U.S. patent application number 12/162357 was filed with the patent office on 2009-07-02 for pulling rod engine.
Invention is credited to Efthimios Pattakos, Emmanouel Pattakos, Manousos Pattakos, Paraskevi Pattakou.
Application Number | 20090165744 12/162357 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 38309557 |
Filed Date | 2009-07-02 |
United States Patent
Application |
20090165744 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Pattakos; Manousos ; et
al. |
July 2, 2009 |
PULLING ROD ENGINE
Abstract
The piston is connected to the crankshaft via a connecting rod,
while the crankshaft is disposed between the wrist pin and the
combustion chamber. This way the combustion is shifted to the slow
dead center, enabling the diesel to perform at higher revs,
improving the spark engine efficiency and making HCCI combustion
easier. Though the crankshaft is of one piece, more connecting rods
can be used for a piston. As opposed piston, the PRE engine further
combines top specific power, top thermal efficiency, built in
scavenging pumps, and compactness.
Inventors: |
Pattakos; Manousos; (Nikea
Piraeus, GR) ; Pattakos; Efthimios; (Nikea Piraeus,
GR) ; Pattakou; Paraskevi; (Nikea Piraeus, GR)
; Pattakos; Emmanouel; (Nikea Piraeus, GR) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Manousos PATTAKOS
Lampraki 406
Nikea Piraeus
18452GR
GR
|
Family ID: |
38309557 |
Appl. No.: |
12/162357 |
Filed: |
January 28, 2007 |
PCT Filed: |
January 28, 2007 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/EP2007/050809 |
371 Date: |
July 28, 2008 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
123/197.3 |
Current CPC
Class: |
Y10T 74/2162 20150115;
F02B 75/32 20130101; F01B 9/02 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
123/197.3 |
International
Class: |
F16C 7/00 20060101
F16C007/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jan 30, 2006 |
GR |
20060100048 |
Mar 1, 2006 |
GR |
20060100131 |
Claims
1. A reciprocating internal combustion engine, comprising at least:
a cylinder; a crankshaft; a piston slidably fitted in said
cylinder, said piston seals one side of a combustion chamber; a
connecting rod, said connecting rod being attached to said piston
at a wrist pin, said connecting rod being attached to said
crankshaft at a crankpin, the crankshaft is disposed between the
wrist pin and the combustion chamber to shift the combustion from
the fast dead center to the slow dead center, maintaining the
simplicity of the conventional engine, keeping the unity of the
crankshaft, without dividing it into crankshaft halves.
2. As in claim 1 wherein the crankshaft runs through the
piston.
3. A reciprocating internal combustion engine, comprising at least:
a crankshaft (1); a cylinder (2); a piston (3) slidably fitted in
said cylinder (2), said piston (3) having a piston crown (4), said
piston crown (4) seals one side of a combustion chamber; a
connecting rod (5), said connecting rod (5) being attached to said
piston (3) at a piston pin (6), said connecting rod (5) being
attached to said crankshaft (1) at a crankpin (7), characterized in
that the crankshaft is disposed between the combustion chamber and
the piston pin to shift the combustion from the fast to the slow
dead center, maintaining the unity of the crankshaft.
4. As in claim 3 wherein the center of the piston pin (6) moves
exclusively at the opposite, to the combustion chamber, side of the
rotation axis (8) of the crankshaft (1).
5. As in claim 3 wherein the crankshaft (1) is a one piece
crankshaft and the piston (6) is kinematically coupled to
exclusively one crankshaft.
6. As in claim 3 wherein the piston (3) has, at its opposite to its
piston crown (4) side, a second piston crown, said second piston
crown seals a second compression or combustion chamber.
7. As in claim 3 wherein a second crankshaft rotates in
synchronization to the crankshaft (1), a second piston is attached
to the second crankshaft by a second connecting rod, the piston (3)
and the second piston seal the two sides of a combustion chamber to
form an opposed piston pulling rod engine.
8. As in claim 3 wherein a second crankshaft rotates in
synchronization to the crankshaft (1), a second piston is attached
to the second crankshaft by a second connecting rod, the piston (3)
and the second piston seal the two sides of a combustion chamber to
form an opposed piston pulling rod engine, the piston (3) and the
second piston have secondary piston crowns forming the scavenging
pumps of the engine.
9. As in claim 3 wherein the crankshaft (1) comprises a balancing
web (10) and a narrowing (11), said narrowing (11) is disposed
between the crankpin (7) and the balancing web (10) to allow a
rigid and compact connection of the two piston ends.
10. A reciprocating internal combustion engine resulting from the
conventional `reciprocating member to connecting rod to crankshaft`
mechanism by rotating the reciprocating member, about its pivotal
join with the connecting rod, for half a turn and by disposing the
crankshaft between the combustion chamber, which is sealed at one
side by the reciprocating member, and the pivotal join of the
reciprocating member with the connecting rod, thereby the
combustion is transferred, in a simple and functional manner, at
the slow `dead center` of the engine, providing more time at better
conditions to the mixture or spray to get prepared and burned.
Description
[0001] In U.S. Pat. No. 6,062,187, U.S. Pat. No. 6,763,796 and U.S.
Pat. No. 6,786,189 patents, which are the closest prior art, the
objective is to increase the thermal efficiency by increasing the
degree of constant volume of a fuel-air mixture at the time of
combustion.
[0002] FIG. 21 contrasts the Conventional Engine to the closest
prior art and to the present invention. In U.S. Pat. No. 6,062,187
the combustion chamber is disposed between the wrist pin and the
piston. U.S. Pat. No. 6,763,796 patent claims a `combustion
chamber/cylinder head` disposed between the crankshaft and the
piston. U.S. Pat. No. 6,786,189 patent shatters the unity of the
crankshaft and compromises with synchronized `crankshaft halves`
disposed outside of the piston sliding path. In Pulling Rod Engine,
or PRE, the crankshaft is disposed between the combustion chamber
and the wrist pin.
[0003] FIG. 6 shows, from left to right, the transition from the
proposed arrangement to the conventional. At left the engine is
assembled, then the cylinder--casing is removed, then the piston is
rotated for 180 degrees about its wrist pin, and finally the piston
shrinks in length to result the conventional mechanism, as shown at
right most. This way the combustion shifts from the fast `dead
center` to the slow `dead center`.
[0004] As in the conventional, at one end the connecting rod of the
PRE is attached to a crank pin of a crankshaft, while at its other
end it is attached, by a wrist pin, to a reciprocating member or
piston. In contrast to conventional, the crankshaft of the PRE is
disposed in between the combustion chamber and the wrist pin.
[0005] An object of the present invention is to improve the
combustion by increasing the degree of constant volume of a
fuel-air mixture at the time of combustion, i.e. by providing more
time, at good conditions, to the mixture to get prepared and
burned.
[0006] Another object is to combine the simplicity of the
conventional engine with the efficiency of the mechanisms proposed
in the closest prior art.
[0007] Another object is to propose some PRE arrangements suitable
for specific applications.
[0008] Despite its simplicity, the proposed solution is non
obvious. This becomes obvious looking at the solutions proposed in
the closest prior art patents, where a pair of crankshaft halves,
geared to each other, a pair of long length connecting rods, a long
piston pin etc are necessary for every piston.
[0009] In FIGS. 1 to 12, (1) is the crankshaft, (2) is the
cylinder, (3) is the piston, (4) is the piston crown, (5) is the
connecting rod, (6) is the piston pin, (7) is the crankpin, (8) is
the rotation axis of the crankshaft, (9) is the slider means for
the thrust loads and (10) is a balancing web of the crankshaft.
FIGS. 13 to 20 show the `opposed piston` version and some
applications.
[0010] FIGS. 1 and 2 show the idea simplified.
[0011] FIG. 3 to 6 show the application of the idea in a single and
a four cylinder engine. The piston is made of two parts, for
assembling reasons, locked to each other at (15) and (16). The
piston body has slots (17) to allow the motion of the connecting
rod. The piston has, at piston pin side, slider means (9) similar
to the conventional piston skirt. The narrowing (11) of the
crankshaft, between the crankpin (7) and the balancing web (10),
allows reasonable dimensions, inertia and strength for the
piston.
[0012] FIGS. 7 and 8 show another realization, applicable in short
stroke engines, like racing. FIG. 11 shows a two cylinder V90 based
on the same parts, while FIG. 12 shows the moving parts of an eight
cylinder V90 engine.
[0013] For longer stroke the piston of FIG. 7 can be modified to
that shown in FIG. 9, where the triangular shape provides rigidity
and lightweight. In FIG. 9 the thrust loads are carried by rollers
(9).
[0014] The significance of the connecting rod length, in terms of
the additional time the piston dwells close to Top Dead Center,
becomes clear by the table in FIG. 10. Using short connecting rod
and operating the pulling rod engine at around 5500 rpm the working
medium feels, in terms of time--volume conditions, like being
burned inside a long rod conventional engine revving at 4000 rpm
(5600=1.4*4000). On this basis the power concentration, especially
of Diesel and natural gas engines, can significantly rise.
[0015] Although the piston is longer, the engine can be shorter and
the distance between cylinder head and crankshaft can be
significantly smaller compared to the conventional of same
stroke.
[0016] Lower compression ratio can be used to reduce parts' stress,
especially for Diesels, without reducing the efficiency, because
what counts is not the nominal compression ratio but the average
compression ratio during combustion.
[0017] Racing engines' robustness, compactness and power output can
be improved.
[0018] A shorter connecting rod is lighter, more rigid, proper for
higher revs and provides more time for the combustion. The gas
pressure on the piston crown and the maximum inertia force load the
connecting rod only in tension.
[0019] The thrust loads are transferred to the casing not at the
hot cylinder wall near combustion chamber, but at the other end of
the piston, with either traditional slider means or rolling means
etc. The clearance and the lubrication in this area of the piston
is easier to control and more reliable, providing more suppression
of the impact loads from combustion and inertia forces. In case of
using short or very short connecting rod, the additional thrust
loads are small price, in terms of mechanical friction and
vibration, compared to the gains from the improved combustion.
[0020] The `opposed piston` PRE of FIGS. 13 to 20 achieves autarkic
and efficient operation with less weight and bulk. The thermal
efficiency is increased by increasing the degree of constant volume
of the working medium at the time of combustion. The additional
time at high compression can shift the efficient combustion rev
limit higher, especially for the compression ignition engines,
thereby increase the power concentration. The pistons have crowns
on both ends. The distal, from engine's center, crowns, in
cooperation with one way valves, create the scavenging pumps or the
compressors at the edges of the engine, while the other crowns form
the combustion chamber at the center, achieving through scavenging.
The two short stroke opposite pistons generate a long central
cylinder and consequently a compact and efficient combustion
chamber. Each crankshaft is disposed between its mate wrist pin and
the combustion chamber. Obviously, the wrist pins can be located at
the other side of the pistons, i.e. at the side of the combustion
crown, but this shortens the time available for an efficient
combustion.
[0021] In FIGS. 15 and 16 each one of the two opposite rotating, in
synchronization, crankshafts drives a rotor/helix with inclined
blades to form a portable flying machine. Rotors with inclined
blades are still unconventional.
[0022] In FIGS. 17 and 18 the opposed piston PRE drives two
conventional rotors. Each rotor is connected to its mate crankshaft
by means of a constant speed, or Cardan, connection and is
rotatably mounted on the casing of the engine at a small
inclination compared to its mate crankshaft axis. This way the two,
parallel and close to each other, crankshafts drive two `inclined`
large diameter conventional rotors without collision. This
arrangement seems ideal for portable flying machines.
[0023] In the flying machines of FIGS. 15 to 18, the flyer/pilot
keeps control by changing the revs/load of the engine and by
displacing his body with respect to the engine/rotors set. The
motion can be from pure hovering to airplane like flight. There is
no torque from the rotors to compensate, there are neither inertia
nor combustion vibrations and the noise is suppressed because the
blades only gradually sweep one over the other. Animations can be
found at www.pattakon.com web site.
[0024] The crux of a portable flyer has always been the weight of
the prime mover, the resulting reaction torque, the vibrations and
the consumption. To allow for flights at higher altitudes, or to
just supercharge the opposed piston PRE, the diameter of the
compressor crown can increase, as in FIG. 14, to compensate for the
drop of the air density. The absence of camshafts, of timing belts,
of poppet valves etc makes the engine reliable and light. With the
two rotors having similar resistance in rotation, the four
synchronizing gears, shown by the dashed dot circles in FIG. 13,
remain almost unloaded.
[0025] The systems shown in FIGS. 15 to 18 can also be used as the
propulsion system of airplanes and helicopters, releasing the body
of the aircraft from vibrations and reaction torque. It is obvious
that the piston crowns need not be of the same size, that one
piston can be conventional or just a sleeve valve and that the
through scavenging is just an option.
[0026] Replacing the two rotors of FIGS. 15 to 18 by two electric
generators, an inertia vibration free and combustion vibration free
electric power plant can result, as shown in FIG. 19, for hybrid
cars, vibration sensitive applications, stationary applications
etc.
[0027] FIG. 20 shows another opposed piston PRE arrangement
applicable on bikes, cars, trucks etc. The two crankshafts rotate
in synchronization at the same direction by means of the central
spur gear. The power flows from the two crankshaft to the central
spur gear and then, through the clutch, to the gearbox or load.
[0028] Although the invention has been described and illustrated in
detail, it is to be clearly understood that the same is by way of
illustration and example, and is not to be taken by way of
limitation. The spirit and scope of the present invention are to be
limited only by the terms of the appended claims.
* * * * *
References